Johnny R. Evans v. State of Indiana

Summary

The Indiana Court of Appeals reviewed Johnny R. Evans’s convictions for four counts of Level 5 felony possession of child pornography. The court reversed two convictions involving images showing uncovered chests because those images could not satisfy the statutory definition of obscenity, but affirmed two convictions involving images showing infant genitals.

Holdings

1. Under the definition of sexual conduct applicable to Indiana's obscenity statute, the exhibition of uncovered female nipples is not sexual conduct. Therefore, images depicting only uncovered prepubescent female chests could not be obscene under Indiana Code section 35-49-2-1 and could not support convictions charged under Indiana Code section 35-42-4-4(d)(2), which requires the image to be obscene.
2. The State presented sufficient evidence for the trial court to determine that the two images depicting exposed infant genitals were obscene under Indiana Code section 35-49-2-1.
3. The State presented sufficient evidence that the infant-genital images were intended to satisfy or arouse the sexual desires of some person, as required by Indiana Code section 35-42-4-4(a)(5)(C).

Questions Presented

1. Whether the State presented sufficient evidence that the two images depicting exposed female chests were obscene under Indiana Code section 35-49-2-1.
2. Whether the State presented sufficient evidence that the two images depicting exposed infant genitals were obscene under Indiana Code section 35-49-2-1.
3. Whether the State presented sufficient evidence that the infant-genital images depicted sexual conduct intended to satisfy or arouse the sexual desires of any person under Indiana Code section 35-42-4-4(a)(5)(C).

Disposition

other